Historically, polyolefins have been made with conventional Ziegler catalyst systems. Such catalysts typically consist of transition metal-containing compounds and one or more organometallic compounds. For example, polyethylene has been made using such Ziegler catalysts as titanium trichloride and diethylaluminum chloride, as well as a mixture of titanium tetrachloride, vanadium oxytrichloride, and triethylaluminum.
While these catalysts are inexpensive, they exhibit low activity and therefore must be used at high concentrations. As a result, it is sometimes necessary to remove catalyst residues from the polymer, which adds to production costs. Neutralizing agents and stabilizers must be added to the polymer to overcome the deleterious effects of the catalyst residues. Failure to remove catalyst residues leads to polymers having a yellow or grey color and poor ultraviolet and long term stability. Additionally, for example, chloride-containing residues can cause corrosion in polymer processing equipment.
Furthermore, Ziegler catalysts produce polymers having a broad molecular weight distribution which is undesirable for some applications such as injection molding. They are also poor at incorporating .alpha.-olefin co-monomers. Poor co-monomer incorporation makes it difficult to control the polymer density. Large quantities of excess co-monomer may be required to achieve a certain density and many higher .alpha.-olefins, such as 1-octene, may be incorporated at only very low levels, if at all.
Although significant improvements in Ziegler catalyst systems have occurred since their initial discovery, they lately have been substantially replaced with "single-site," in particular, metallocene, catalyst systems. A traditional metallocene catalyst typically consists of a transition metal compound which has one or more cyclopentadienyl ring ligands bound in an .eta..sup.5 fashion. The cyclopentadienyl ring ligands are polymerization-stable; that is, they remain bound to the metal during the course of the polymerization process. They produce polymers of high molecular weight and display narrow molecular weight distributions, because the cyclopentadienyl ligands deter formation of secondary polymerizing species. These catalysts also incorporate .alpha.-olefin co-monomers well. However, at higher temperatures traditional metallocene catalysts tend to produce lower molecular weight polymers. They are particularly useful for gas phase and slurry polymerizations of ethylene, which are conducted at about 80.degree. C. to about 95.degree. C., but are less useful in solution polymerizations of ethylene, at about 150.degree. C. to about 250.degree. C. Additionally, gas phase and slurry polymerizations using supported metallocene catalysts can suffer from sheeting and equipment fouling problems.
Recently, catalysts have been discovered wherein one or more of the cyclopentadienyl ring ligands associated with the traditional metallocene have been replaced by other polymerization-stable anionic ancillary ligands. These may be ligands which are isolobal to cyclopentadienyl; that is, the frontier molecular orbitals--the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals--of the ligand and those of the cyclopentadienyl ligand are similar. These isolobal ligands may include tris(pyrazolyl)borates, pentadienyl groups, phospholes, and carbollides.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,775, incorporated herein by reference, discloses catalysts wherein one or both cyclopentadienyl moieties are replaced by a boratabenzene moiety including boratanaphthalene and borataphenanthrene. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,124, incorporated herein by reference, discloses catalysts in which one or both cyclopentadienyl moieties have been replaced by a nitrogen-containing heteroaromatic compound containing a pyrrolyl ring, i.e., an azametallocene, variously substituted. The heteroaromatics disclosed in the latter patent include, e.g., indolyl, isoindolyl, and carbazolyl, and other homologous heteroaromatic moieties. The foregoing heteroaromatic catalysts may be referred to generally as heterometallocenes. In addition, PCT International Application WO 96/34021 discloses azaborolinyl heterometallocenes wherein at least one aromatic ring is complexed with a transition metal. Such rings include both a boron atom and a nitrogen atom. These specifically will be referred to as, e.g., azaborolines and the catalysts derived therefrom as azaborolinyl catalysts. The latter catalysts also fall into the general group referred to as heterometallocenes. The foregoing metallocene and heterometallocene catalysts have been developed to include bulky ligands attached to the aromatic moieties. Increased control of the polymerization process may therefore be provided.
Because supported catalysts are more stable, may produce higher molecular weight polymers, and may produce useful changes in the morphology of the polymer, metallocene catalysts are often used in conjunction with a support, such as silica gel.
For the purposes of the present disclosure, it is to be understood that when the term "metallocene" is used, both traditional metallocenes and heterometallocenes such as those disclosed in the above referenced U.S. patents and applications, including those containing bulky ligands, arc contemplated to fall within the scope of the term. Thus, "metallocene" is considered to be a generic term for all such transition metal-bonded aromatic organic polymerization catalysts. Likewise, it is to be understood that when the term "single-site" catalyst is used, both metallocenes as well as other metal complexes containing polymerization-stable ancillary ligands are contemplated to fall within the scope of the term.